An exhibitor struggles to set up a blind for boot during preparation for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sport Show at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park in West Allis, Wis. The show opens Wednesday at 11 a.m. and runs through Sunday. Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee chapter of Great Lakes Sport Fishermen has been exhibiting at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show since before the event had Journal in its name.

"Oh boy, it's been a while," said chapter president Bob Wincek of New Berlin, contemplating the question of when the club was first set up at the Sports Show.

The club's involvement goes back at least as far as the 1980s, when the show was held at MECCA and chapter members ran the trout pond.

This year, the club is focusing on a new initiative.

It will present a petition at its booth that advocates for five actions of high importance to the Lake Michigan sport fishery, Wincek said.

"We are seeing signs that commercial interests would like to make changes that could threaten the sport fishery," Wincek said. "So we'd like to present state officials with a sense of how sport anglers feel about that."

The petition includes one issue that has been around for more than a decade - the use of sport license dollars to fund law enforcement oversight of the Wisconsin commercial fishing industry; three that have recently arisen due to commercial requests; and one that is completely new and seeks equitable representation for sport anglers.

It specifically seeks to:

- Prohibit the use of sport license dollars to fund law enforcement of commercial fishing activities. Estimates in recent years range from $350,000 to $750,000 spent annually to monitor the commercial industry, all of which is derived from sport fees.

- Deny the request for a large mesh gill net study in Zone 3 waters of Lake Michigan (approximately from Algoma to Kenosha, an area gill nets are currently prohibited to protect sport fish).

- Deny any request by commercial fishermen to keep and sell by-catch of non-target species such as chinook salmon, walleye and brown trout.

- Deny any move to establish a commercial quota for lake trout in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan.

- Create a sport fishing board with similar power as the commercial fishing board.

The use of sport monies to oversee commercial fishing activity has long agitated anglers and clubs. But legislators - who dictated the funding stream in state statute - have continually turned a blind eye to the issue; no bill was offered this Legislative session to address it.

"The position of our club is that the commercial industry should provide whatever funds are required for state officials to oversee the commercials," Wincek said.

The Department of Natural Resources is evaluating a proposal for a study of large-mesh gill nets to target lake whitefish in Zone 3. Such nets have been prohibited in the zone since 1970, partly to prevent killing non-target fish such as salmon and trout.

The club opposes the study since it is highly likely to kill fish raised and stocked with sport license monies. Commercial fishermen currently use trap nets to catch whitefish in the zone.

In two measures related to the proposed gill net study, the club also opposes any rule that would allow commercial fishermen to keep and sell by-catch such as salmon, trout and walleyes.

Regulations currently prohibit the practice.

Further, the club is against any move to create a commercial harvest quota for lake trout in Lake Michigan.

"We know lake trout are naturally-reproducing, but we don't know how much pressure they can take," Wincek said. "We endorse further scientific studies before any changes are made."

And in a new idea, the club would like to see the state create a Sport Fishing Board.

A Lake Michigan Commercial Fishing Board was established in state statute in 1997. Among its privileges, the representative of the commercial board is granted an unlimited time to address the Natural Resources Board at public meetings.

It's a status enjoyed only by one other constituent group - the Wisconsin Conservation Congress.

All other individuals and groups are limited to three minutes.

Wincek said it was high time sport anglers in the state had at least equal footing as commercial fishermen at the board meetings.

"We have more than 1 million sport license buyers in the state and just a couple dozen commercial fishing licenses, if you include both Great Lakes," Wincek said. "It seems like a no-brainer to form a sport fishing board."

On Tuesday, club members were busily preparing their booth space. A chinook salmon mount was hung on the back wall, right next to a flat screen to show Lake Michigan fishing videos.

But a stack of petition papers on the front table likely will draw the most attention this year.

The club, which is a member of the Wisconsin Federation of Great Lakes Sport Fishing Clubs, would like to put its shoulder into the issues.

"We've got more than 3,000 members in the federation, and we know how they feel," Wincek said. "We'd like to have show attendees stop by to talk about these issues with us and, if they agree, lend their support."

SPORTS SHOW FACTS

When: Wednesday-Sunday.

Where: State Fair Park, Wisconsin Exposition Center, S. 84th St. and W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis. Extensive on-site parking is available for $6 per vehicle.